What do I do next? Here is what I want to accomplish and what I have done. I have an exact instance in mind when asking this question but I am looking for “in general” advice. I know weather, time of year, hunting pressure, the rut, the moon, and the price of rice in China all change elk movement patterns so I am looking for a conceptual answer not a hard fast rule.

I know it is June but this same scenario will apply any time of the year.

I want to try to pattern a group of bulls that I have trail cam pics of. I have been to the area at different times of the day and have seen evidence of elk but never laid an eye on a live elk.

I have successfully gotten trail camera pictures of a group of bulls. They regularly cross paths with my trail camera between midnight and 1 am. The problem is I cannot hunt those hours of the day. I need to know where these elk are during shooting light. All I know for sure is they cross my camera spot at that time of day. I don’t know where they come from or where they go after they pass by. How do I go about figuring this out?

I think I would like to place a couple of cameras in the surrounding area to try to catch them somewhere else and then make a timeline and direction of travel. Any suggestions on placement and distance between cameras; or other Elk scouting techniques that would serve me well to solve my problem.

Notes : water availability is not an issue – there are not any drastic elevation changes in the area – game trails criss cross the area – feed seems to be evenly distributed throughout the immediate area.

Those bulls will probably pack up and head over that Res line by the end of the September hunt. Assuming you're talking about 3a/3c. That's just personal experience from last years. Talking with locals is your best bet. I know we have some advance members on this site from there. Maybe they could point you in the right direction?